It's quite strange and frightening to realize how unconnected with our world we are.
Almost everything around me was made by man,
and most of my ideas were shaped by the man-made world around me.
I was thinking the other day about when I went to Lela and Bhim's village with them.
I drank the village water,
water that came straight from the earth,
and my system reacted poorly to it.
That's strange.
The village life is an incredibly pure way of living, the food you eat it is the food you harvested. There is no schedule, if you aren't farming, you are engaging in human interaction.
In meeting Lela's mom, I had a desire to have a simpler mindset. She was so loving, and pure. She wasn't trying to please me, she only offered me what she had.
It's a hard thing to try to explain,
but I'd like to work on getting back to roots of the core of our humanity.
October 23
Ahhh.
I had an incredibly peaceful evening.
Tim and I went for a walk in the sort-of rain, and listened to Beyonce on Pandora.
We stopped first at a South Asian grocery store, and Tim acted really impressed with everything- especially the onions. I would push his wheelchair by a pack of biscuits; whooa! We walked by some tea; whooa! A giant collection of Bollywood movies; whooa! It was a clash of my two favorite worlds- the one here- with people like Tim, and the kingdom of Nepal- there was Parle-G biscuits and Kukaree.
As we walked by the people in the store, I felt people looking at me the way I was looked at in Nepal. People just gaze at you. I don't know what it is, it's not a cold stare, but it's not especially warm either. I don't mind it, it's just one of those things. The store smelled ridiculously familiar, and I kept picking stuff up, and telling Tim, "I used to eat this everyday." He pretended to care, but I could tell he was thinking about onions.
After Tim got sick of it, (I don't know if I ever would have) we went to a hardware store next door. We both loved it, and we have big plans for Monday. We are going back to get a cobweb, some stickers, a few balls and some glow necklaces, all to hang up in Tim's bedroom. Tim has a fiery passion for hanging things up. He has random shit hanging from his ceiling, and he sleeps with balloons.
All of the events were peaceful on their own, but what always really gets me is when Tim says, "I'm happy." I got to hear it so many times tonight. When Tim's happy, I'm damn near blissful.
I had an incredibly peaceful evening.
Tim and I went for a walk in the sort-of rain, and listened to Beyonce on Pandora.
We stopped first at a South Asian grocery store, and Tim acted really impressed with everything- especially the onions. I would push his wheelchair by a pack of biscuits; whooa! We walked by some tea; whooa! A giant collection of Bollywood movies; whooa! It was a clash of my two favorite worlds- the one here- with people like Tim, and the kingdom of Nepal- there was Parle-G biscuits and Kukaree.
As we walked by the people in the store, I felt people looking at me the way I was looked at in Nepal. People just gaze at you. I don't know what it is, it's not a cold stare, but it's not especially warm either. I don't mind it, it's just one of those things. The store smelled ridiculously familiar, and I kept picking stuff up, and telling Tim, "I used to eat this everyday." He pretended to care, but I could tell he was thinking about onions.
After Tim got sick of it, (I don't know if I ever would have) we went to a hardware store next door. We both loved it, and we have big plans for Monday. We are going back to get a cobweb, some stickers, a few balls and some glow necklaces, all to hang up in Tim's bedroom. Tim has a fiery passion for hanging things up. He has random shit hanging from his ceiling, and he sleeps with balloons.
All of the events were peaceful on their own, but what always really gets me is when Tim says, "I'm happy." I got to hear it so many times tonight. When Tim's happy, I'm damn near blissful.
October 7
"Mama!!"
When I spent four months in Nepal, I went to a village everyday to spend time with nearly 20 children with disabilities. It was hard knowing what exactly the diagnosis for each child was, because of difficult communication, and also, because a lot of the time, I don't think anyone knew what a certain disability meant or looked like, or felt like- let alone know what the name for it was. I learned that it doesn't matter much. They are just kids, and more then medicine, they need love and respect and they want to have fun.
One of the kids, and I can't even think of her name off the top of my head, was not verbal. The only thing I ever heard her say was "Mama!" over and over and over. It's funny because you would think the one word she spoke would be in Nepali. It was also so enjoyable when men would come and she would address them by looking right at them and saying "Mama!" I would love to find out where she learned that word, and I would kill to know if there was a reason she spoke it contiunally.
The bus rides up to this village were an hour long. After I got off the bus, I would walk for 45 minutes all uphill. It was so tiring, and a lot of the time turned me cranky. After 5 minutes spent with the kids, cranky was the furthest thing from how I felt. The kids liberated me, they made me happy. They made me realize that the world is beautiful and uncomplicated. They showed me that it was about love, and simplicity. I enjoyed every second spent there.
"Mommy!!"
Since being home in the states, I have missed those kids a ton. I worry about them- I hope that their health is good and that they are dreaming big dreams and enjoying themselves. I think about them so often, and I am always looking for that inspiration that I drew from them. I miss their energy, and that feeling I got every moment we were together. Most ironically, I got a PCA job with a boy named Tim. He is also pretty unverbal, but one word anyone can hear him say over and over is "Mommy!"
I went to his house the other night, and we sat with each other. We danced a little bit, he bossed me around, and together we adorned his tiny wrists with every one of his sisters bracelts. On the drive over, and for many days before I went to Tim's, my mind was filled with stress. Mostly because of money, or things equally silly. I hadn't even spent more than 5 minutes with Tim before I felt inspired, and the furthest thing from stressed. Tim brought me back to the fact that life is simple, and meant to be enjoyed.
Two worlds. Two kids. Two languages. Same concept.
When I spent four months in Nepal, I went to a village everyday to spend time with nearly 20 children with disabilities. It was hard knowing what exactly the diagnosis for each child was, because of difficult communication, and also, because a lot of the time, I don't think anyone knew what a certain disability meant or looked like, or felt like- let alone know what the name for it was. I learned that it doesn't matter much. They are just kids, and more then medicine, they need love and respect and they want to have fun.
One of the kids, and I can't even think of her name off the top of my head, was not verbal. The only thing I ever heard her say was "Mama!" over and over and over. It's funny because you would think the one word she spoke would be in Nepali. It was also so enjoyable when men would come and she would address them by looking right at them and saying "Mama!" I would love to find out where she learned that word, and I would kill to know if there was a reason she spoke it contiunally.
The bus rides up to this village were an hour long. After I got off the bus, I would walk for 45 minutes all uphill. It was so tiring, and a lot of the time turned me cranky. After 5 minutes spent with the kids, cranky was the furthest thing from how I felt. The kids liberated me, they made me happy. They made me realize that the world is beautiful and uncomplicated. They showed me that it was about love, and simplicity. I enjoyed every second spent there.
"Mommy!!"
Since being home in the states, I have missed those kids a ton. I worry about them- I hope that their health is good and that they are dreaming big dreams and enjoying themselves. I think about them so often, and I am always looking for that inspiration that I drew from them. I miss their energy, and that feeling I got every moment we were together. Most ironically, I got a PCA job with a boy named Tim. He is also pretty unverbal, but one word anyone can hear him say over and over is "Mommy!"
I went to his house the other night, and we sat with each other. We danced a little bit, he bossed me around, and together we adorned his tiny wrists with every one of his sisters bracelts. On the drive over, and for many days before I went to Tim's, my mind was filled with stress. Mostly because of money, or things equally silly. I hadn't even spent more than 5 minutes with Tim before I felt inspired, and the furthest thing from stressed. Tim brought me back to the fact that life is simple, and meant to be enjoyed.
Two worlds. Two kids. Two languages. Same concept.
October 7
Eric's troop was attacked.
There were
8
men killed from the US army,
12
hours of solid fighting.
They killed
150
Taliban.
They lost everything-
computers, cameras, clothes, blankets and
friends; brothers.
They are in a safe place for
48
hours.
That should do it, right??
War is so inhuman. I hate it.
They fought for 12 hours,
8American soldiers humans killed,
150Taliban humans dead,
and way too much hate.
Someone better help us.
There were
8
men killed from the US army,
12
hours of solid fighting.
They killed
150
Taliban.
They lost everything-
computers, cameras, clothes, blankets and
friends; brothers.
They are in a safe place for
48
hours.
That should do it, right??
War is so inhuman. I hate it.
They fought for 12 hours,
8
150
and way too much hate.
Someone better help us.
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